“I’m afraid I can’t do that Dave, as a result of subsection 9(b) (iv) (a)”

Posted on November 18, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

 

Another little thought experiment, on Judges this time. Now, clearly Judges at first instance have to very carefully assess the evidence, and the nuances and tone and demeanour of witnesses and attribute weight and balance to a variety of factors. The higher up the Court hierarchy you go, the less important that becomes, to the point where by the time of the Supreme Court, what a witness said or did not say in the box is almost neither here nor there.

 

In fact, what is very often happening in the Supreme Court is drawing together from a variety of sources – the legislation, the guidance and existing principles derived from authority, applying it to the legal dilemma in the case and achieving a decision that ends up being consistent with all of those decisions and perhaps extending the existing principles in a slightly new (yet consistent) direction.

 

Now, it occurs to me that as we reach the point of artificial intelligence, it would be theoretically possible to have all the legislation, all of the guidance, all of the previous authorities, held by a computerised mind, who could then just trace a path through them to reach the decision.  If all that one is doing is looking at the precedent decisions and seeing where they would logically take you in deciding the legal dilemma, a sufficiently wonderful computer can solve that logical problem.

 

Instead of seven law lords, what one would have is a dazzlingly brilliant super computer  S.U.P.R.E.M.E   and the legal dilemma would be inputted and a judgment would come out.

 If you’re like me, then you are probably shifting a little nervously in your seat at this point, and feeling that this is just uncomfortable. There’s more to Supreme Court decisions than just deriving the answer from the principles.

 But that in itself takes us into interesting areas.

 There seems to me to be some sort of qualitative difference between these two questions :-

 

(a)   What is 53,209 divided by 7.33 

 

And

 

(b)   Is a school’s admission policy to give preference to Orthodox Jewish children, looking for evidence that the mother of the child is Jewish by birth or by Orthodox conversion, discriminatory under the Race Relations Act 1976

 

It is not simply a matter of complexity – of course the latter question is more complex, since one can solve the first question in a matter of seconds with a calculator, and the second at the very least is going to involve reading the Race Relations Act and the school’s policy, and any decisions that help clarify how either ought to be interpreted.

 

But there’s still more to it than just complexity, otherwise S.U.P.R.E.M.E could answer both, given the right information (or access to Google to find it for itself)

 

Isn’t one of the differences between the two questions that the answer to (a) exists already – it is out there to be found, and it is utterly replicable. Anyone who does the calculations will arrive at the same answer, regardless of who they are.   (The same would be true if you swapped (a) for “What is the capital of Guina Bissau?”  – it is a factual question, and the answer is out there to be found)

 

The answer to (b) – maybe it doesn’t exist   (well, it does now, because the Supreme Court decided it  in R (on the application of E) v JFS : Governing Body 2009 UKSC 15) and it only exists ONCE the question is asked and answered. The answer is CREATED, not found.

 If question (a) is more like maths, or physics or geography – there’s a factual answer that is true for whoever answers it, then maybe (b) is more like history or english literature – there are certain things within it  “In which Shakespeare play does Ophelia appear?” which are definitive, factual answers (like cases which squarely correspond with precedent) and there are others which the person answering the question creates  “What is the nature of the character Hamlet?”

 

Once we start thinking in those terms though, we inevitably bump into the peculiar wrinkle that the highest legal authorities in the land, which bind future courts and cases and will in turn influence future legal authorities at the highest level are not OBJECTIVE TRUTHS found by the Court, but SUBJECTIVE decisions created by the Court.  And in turn that the Judges who sit on these cases bring something of themselves to that process; that’s why the concept of S.U.P.R.E.M.E deciding it makes us feel a bit edgy.

 

That must intrinsically be right, because all of the Judges in the Supreme Court hear the same arguments, have the same facts, have access to the same precedent authorities. Yet there are dissenting judgments. So what causes that must be that there’s an element, even in the rarefied air of the Supreme Court, of subjectivity to deciding how the legal dilemma should be resolved.  

 

[You may recall my previous blog about the impact of extraneous circumstances, such as proximity to lunchtime on judicial decisions 

https://suesspiciousminds.com/2013/09/30/your-honour-may-i-hand-up-my-case-summary-and-a-pastrami-on-rye/   ]

 

This piece derives from another interesting piece of research, which takes as an example the  UK Supreme Court’s decision in the Jewish Free School’s admission policy.

 My attention was recently drawn to this study, which is available in the Journal of Law and Society  (I’m afraid that it is behind a paywall, and as such I can’t let you peep at it, and I have to be limited in how much I can quote out of it)

 

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2013.00642.x/abstract

 

The study was written by Rachel J Cahill-O’Callaghan of CardiffUniversityLawSchool  (which frankly is becoming a hot-bed of brainy talent, and one day I must try to visit and have my mind blown. Perhaps during the Six Nations…)

 It opens with a lovely quotation from Lord Reid, in which he manages in four lines to say everything I’ve been fumbling in the dark for, and does so beautifully to boot.

 “Those with a taste for fairy tales seem to have thought that in some Aladdin’s cave there is hidden the Common Law in all its splendour and that on a judge’s appointment there descends on him knowledge of the magic words Open Sesame… But we do not believe in fairy tales anymore”

 

 There has been a long debate about the make-up of the Supreme Court and whether it reflects the diversity of our society (hint, no, it doesn’t) but this research goes further than that, and analyses how a person’s position on Values is brought to bear on judgments and decisions.

 

“In reaching a decision, at least one not governed by precedent, a judge will support one or more values above another…. Although the law provides the basis for framing and constraining judicial discretion, in difficult cases at least, it is the personal values of an individual judge that influences how that judicial discretion is exercised and that, in turn, can influence the way in which the law develops”

 

The way that the research tests this is interesting, and involves  firstly identifying a series of values and defining those so that one knows exactly what to look for in relation to each value, then looking at the judgment in the authority, and analysing each line of it, looking at the emphasis that the individual judge places on particular values, which may compete (for example “flexibility in the law” v “Transparency in the law, Corporate responsibility v individual responsibility, freedom v responsibility).  

 

On a case such as this, where the Supreme Court was divided in its opinion, that analysis can then be used to see whether the judges who reached a particular conclusion (there was a breach of Race Relations Act) appeared to place similar emphasis on similar values, and do the same exercise with those who reached the opposite conclusion.

 

On looking at that, there are really stark differences between the values emphasised by the majority judgments and the minority judgments.

 

The author of the report acknowledges that what was not possible was to go back to the individual Supreme Court judges after the judgment, with that analysis, and ask them whether the analysis of the values that each judge “appeared” to prioritise accords with their own view of where their own values sit, but the research uses some clever techniques to try to fill in this gap.

 

 There’s an interesting conclusion that if personal values play a role in judicial decision-making and the framing of the law, then in order for the Supreme Court to represent society one doesn’t merely have to look at the very visible aspects of diversity  (gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background) but also diversity of personal values.

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Riddle me this, Batman

Posted on November 16, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

 

Ah, the joys of insomnia. I started thinking about this idly at 4.00am, and had to get up to write it.

This is a litle mindbending puzzle, not law related.  I have a collection of words here, which I have shuffled so that they aren’t in order. The words all have something in common. Sadly I don’t have a full set (it may be impossible to complete the full set, as I haven’t been able to think of the missing ones yet)

 

Can you work out what they have in common, and better yet, come up with some of the missing ones?  If you want to work on this without spoilers, probably avoid reading the comments – I have some very smart readers and I’m sure some of them will get there.

 

In random order then

 

Type, Bone, Movie, Sign, Spot, Cars, Line, Cloth, Ray, Zone, Section, Pad, Chromosome, Bomb, Notice, Word

 

And in case that is driving you to despair, can I recommend Seanbaby’s diatribe about the pointlessness of the Riddler as a bad guy

“What’s green and purple and commits lots of crime / Whose superpower is wasting your time?”

http://www.seanbaby.com/superfriends/riddler.htm

And if you develop a taste for Seanbaby’s humour, http://www.seanbaby.com/personal/americarules.htm

in which Sean decides to cook and prepare a meal, using his iron chef rules that he has to buy all of the ingredients in foreign food supermarkets and “I may only buy a food item or food-like item if it is NOT labelled in English and I have absolutely no idea what it is”

 

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“I’m Batman”

Posted on November 16, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

 

This will now be the fourth time I’ve written about this particular case,  you may recall that it involves a family whose relationship with their daughter broke down and she came into care voluntarily as a result of being beyond parental control. The parents obtained a judgment in which the Court found that their complaints of being treated badly by the LA and being marginalised and excluded were made out, though the Court went on to make a Care Order believing that the better option of wardship was barred to them.

Forensic ferrets (or “Standing in the way of (beyond parental) control”)

The Court of Appeal then ruled that it wasn’t and wardship was made.

The case I am most pleased about this year

The parents were then asking the Court whether they could speak out in public about the case – providing that they did nothing to give away the identity of themselves and the child.

 

(You may remember, it was my clunky Batman analogy – the parents wanted to say in their interviews that the published judgments were about them, using the alias in the published judgments but not give their real name – i.e they could say “I’m Batman” but not  “I’m Bruce Wayne, and I am also Batman”)

“Rubric’s cube”

 

Okay, so the Court now finally have said that they can indeed say  “I’m Batman”   – their faces would need to be either silouhetted or pixellated but they don’t need voice-changing technology. I think it is important for family justice that in a case where the Court have found that the State got things wrong, that this gets properly aired, and those concerned ought to be able to tell their story, so I think it is a good thing.  (unlike Re J, where there was not yet any published context to ascertain whether the parents huge sense of injustice and aggrievement was justified by bad treatment as opposed to being a natural human reaction)

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2013/B21.html

 

There’s even a fifth judgment, which deals in part with the wrangle that the parents had to obtain the therapy that their daughter so clearly needed.  If you have seen the title of the case and got excited that it is a ‘compelling the LA to fund therapy’ case, it isn’t.  Firstly this is wardship, and secondly the LA had agreed to be bound by the Court’s views – it was about who was to provide that therapy (the organisation supported by the psychologist and parents, or the one supported by the LA), the LA lost that argument too, but to their credit agreed to be bound rather than sheltering behind technical arguments about the court’s powers.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2013/B20.html

 

Having played a microscopic part in all of this, I am very pleased for these parents, who have had a long and gruelling journey to get justice and the help that their daughter so badly needs and have finally done so. I hope that some of the principles they have fought for may help others.

 

And in a final flourish – Bale is amazing, obviously, but against all the odds, wimpy Michael Keaton delivers THE line better than anyone could have expected.

 

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Pure and Simple – the Court of Appeal attack hearsay

Posted on November 14, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

 

 

To clarify, the Court of Appeal did not attack the manufactured flash-in-the-pan pop sensation that was Hear’say, who deserve it merely for the superfluous apostrophe.  

[In their defence, the band produced not only Kym Marsh who has been ace in Corrie, Myleene Klass who was top viewing on I’m a Celebrity, but also their reject pile produced Jessica from Liberty X, a major factor in keeping Kevin Pieterson happy and in good shape to thrash the Aussies at cricket in the upcoming Ashes series]

 

No, this is really about  Re W (Fact Finding : Hearsay) 2013, and hooray for a meaningful title AND a Court of Appeal case that is not about bloody placement orders.

 http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2013/1374.html

For the real people who read this blog, here’s a quick illustration of what hearsay means

 

  1. Kevin Pieterson goes into the witness box and describes how he watched Ian Bell hit a six right over the head of Mitchell Johnson  (direct evidence, no hearsay)

 

  1. Matt Prior goes in the witness box and describes how Kevin Pieterson TOLD him about seeing that six.  (That’s direct evidence that KP SAID it, but only hearsay evidence that Ian Bell did actually hit the six) 
  2. Graham Swann (swanny!) goes in the witness box and says that Matt Prior told him (swann)  that KP told him (prior)  that he (KP) had seen Ian Bell hit a six   (that’s now getting very removed from someone who can say whether Ian hit that six, and is hopeless at establishing whether it happened or not. Hearsay pure and simple)

 

 

 

In crime, there are complicated and technical rules on when hearsay evidence is admissible and when it is not. That’s why we family lawyers put those thick Law of Evidence tomes into cardboard boxes, scotch-tape them shut and put them in the attic as soon as our exams were over.

 

In family law proceedings, hearsay evidence is generally admissible

 

  1. There is a great deal of authority on the subject of hearsay evidence in cases concerning children. I will list below the authorities that were cited to us as of particular relevance to the issue but we were not asked to revisit them or to venture any general guidance, the appeal being approached with commendable practicality on the basis that the judge erred in the way in which she treated the evidence in this particular case. The authorities were: Official Solicitor v K [1965] AC 201; Re W (Minors)(Wardship: Evidence) [1990] 1 FLR 203; R v B County Council, ex parte P [1991] 1 FLR 470; Re N (Child Abuse: Evidence) [1996] 2 FLR 214; Re D (Sexual Abuse Allegations: Evidence of Adult Victim) [2002] 1 FLR 723; Re B (Allegation of Sexual Abuse: Child’s Evidence) [2006] EWCA Civ 773; H v L [2006] EWHC 3099 (Fam); B v Torbay Council [2007] 1 FLR 203; W (a child) [2007] EWCA Civ 1255; JFM v Neath Port Talbot Borough Council [2008] EWCA Civ 3; Enfield LBC v SA (By her Litigation Friend, The Official Solicitor) [2010] EWHC 196 (Admin); Re W (Children)(Abuse: Oral Evidence) [2010] UKSC 12 [2010] 1 FLR 1485; Surrey County Council v M, F and E [2013] EWHC 2400 (Fam).
  1. We were also referred to the Children (Admissibility of Hearsay Evidence) Order 1993, the Civil Evidence Act 1995 and Articles 6 and 8 ECHR.

 

 

In this case, a 28 year old woman T, made allegations that she had been sexually abused as a child. That was important, because she had younger siblings who were still children.  If T’s allegations were false, then there was no risk for those children. If, however, they were true, then there would be a potential risk.

 

A fact finding hearing therefore took place, for the Court to determine which of those two options was correct. The Court made findings that T’s allegations were true. T did not give evidence herself, and that’s why the case was appealed.

 

  1. Much of the local authority’s evidence in relation to the sexual abuse findings was hearsay. The principal source of evidence about what happened to T was obviously T herself. She had spoken to social workers about her experience in late 2012/early 2013 and they reported to the court what she had said. However, Judge Davies (who very properly attended to the case management of this case throughout) was quite rightly intent on ensuring that her evidence should be received by the court in a more direct form and made an order on 20 March 2013 that if the local authority were relying on her evidence, they were to file a statement from her. A date was given for the filing of the statement and when that was not complied with, an extension was given. However, still no statement was forthcoming.
  1. T’s position was discussed at a directions hearing on 6 June 2013. There is a difference of recollection as to the extent to which any reason was given for the absence of a statement from her but it may be that the local authority explained to the judge that T was not co-operating with the process, as Miss Heaton QC explained to us on their behalf during the appeal hearing. No orders were sought from Judge Davies or made by her with a view to resolving such problems as there were.
  1. By the time that the final fact finding hearing commenced on 17 June 2003, nothing had changed. T had not made a statement and she did not attend to give evidence. It seems that the hearing proceeded without any discussion of why this was or what should be done about it.
  1. T is a vulnerable adult who has suffered from depression and she has learning difficulties, although no one suggested that they were such as to prevent her from giving evidence. Social services are involved in relation to her children, of whom there are four, the youngest having been born at the end of April 2013. In her statement of 3 May 2013, Ms McMenemy (one of the social workers who gave evidence to Judge Davies) spoke of reports that T was under a great deal of pressure from her family to write a statement supporting them and said that T was not now willing to provide a statement confirming what she had said about abuse (B62/3). However, it appears that there was no up to date evidence about T’s position offered to the court either at the directions hearing on 6 June 2013 or at the fact finding hearing. The judge should at least have been told, for example, what efforts had been made to obtain a statement from T and/or to secure her attendance at court and why these had foundered, and she should have been fully informed about any continuing personal difficulties on T’s part which it appeared were getting in the way of the process.
  1. It may not be entirely surprising, in the circumstances, that the judgment contained no reference at all to the reasons why direct evidence from T was not available. The judge said only this about T’s absence:

“On behalf of F, I am reminded that he has Article 6 rights to a fair trial. I must bear in mind that he has a right to cross examine witnesses and, if witnesses have not been called to give evidence, I must consider what weight should be given to their evidence.” (§7)

“T has not been called to give evidence, either by the local authority or by the parents; and I must remind myself it is for the local authority to prove the case, it is not for the parents to disprove it.” (§8)

“I have to bear in mind that T has not attended court to be cross examined…” (§22)

 

 

The parents were not arguing that the hearsay evidence in relation to T’s allegations was not admissible (as they might have in a criminal trial) but rather that in the absence of T being available to be challenged, the Judge ought to have given that evidence much less weight.

 

The Court of Appeal took the view, and gave some guidance, that where the allegations that are central to the case are being made by an adult, all endeavours ought to be made to get that adult to give the evidence [particularly where, as here, T had previously retracted the allegations]

 

  1. Where an adult’s evidence is so central to a finding or findings sought, I would normally expect that adult to give evidence, although there can, of course, be situations in which that is not possible. Judge Davies herself made clear by her order of 20 March 2013 that she expected that T would furnish direct evidence. She was never asked to revoke that order, although equally she was not asked to direct that the local authority could not rely on the hearsay material as to what T had said.
  1. Where it is said to be impossible to obtain a statement from a witness or to secure a witness’s attendance at court, the court needs to know the reasons why so that that can be considered when, to use the phraseology of section 4 Civil Evidence Act 1995, “estimating the weight (if any) to be given to hearsay evidence”.
  1. There are ways in which witnesses can be assisted to overcome difficulties in engaging in court proceedings and the various options should always be considered when there are problems in getting evidence from a central witness. They include special measures such as screens in the court room or a video link. Alternatively, a witness summons may be appropriate. None of these options seem to have been considered in this case. We were told that T has recently given a statement to the police by way of an ABE video interview. Had that course been taken before the fact finding hearing, the video interview would at least have covered the ground that would have been covered by a statement. The question of cross examination could then have been addressed as a supplementary issue in the knowledge of what T had said in the ABE interview.
  1. Assuming that none of the available measures secures direct evidence from the witness, the judge has to have regard to the reasons for this in weighing the hearsay evidence on which reliance is placed instead. A judge may be less uncomfortable in giving weight to such evidence where there is a good reason for the witness’s non-engagement (such as the sort of profound psychological difficulties from which C is suffering or a protracted physical illness) than where the reason is hard to divine or the non-engagement appears to be a matter of deliberate choice on the part of the witness.
  1. The estimation of the weight to be given to T’s recent complaints was complicated by the fact that she had retracted what she said. She did so in the form of two letters. She has problems with literacy and they were written by her brother B and signed by her. The first is dated 6 February 2013 (E105). It alleges that social services are trying to “manipulate and intimidate me into making a statement” and says that she is not willing to make a statement about F molesting her as it would be a false statement. The second letter (E253) is undated but I think it was received by social services towards the end of April 2013. It says that social services had blackmailed her by saying they would pay for a deposit for a house move if she made a statement about F but that she would not do so as it would be false.
  1. The judge referred to the two letters in §§20 and 21 of her judgment but went on to make her findings about T’s complaints in §22 without setting out how she had approached them in her evaluation. She had earlier rejected the suggestion that the social workers had put pressure on family members to make untrue allegations (see §10) and found the social workers to be very careful in their evidence and accurate in their note-taking and recollection. This was, of course, material to her approach to the retraction letters in which improper conduct on the part of social services was suggested. She also stated in a different section of the judgment later on (§31) that she found that pressure had been put on T by B and by both parents to withdraw her allegations but this was a bald statement without any supporting analysis or details and without specific reference to the letters.
  1. The retraction of a complaint normally requires careful and specific consideration and this case was no exception. Obviously the fact that a complaint is subsequently retracted does not prevent a judge from accepting that it is in fact true but it gives rise to questions which must be addressed sufficiently fully and directly in the judge’s reasons so that one can be confident that the fact of the retraction has been given proper weight in the judge’s conclusions about the subject matter of the retracted allegation. Where, as here, the only evidence before the court about the complaint is hearsay, it seems to me that this is particularly so and the judgment was insufficiently specific in my view.

The Court of Appeal concluded that the findings made should be set aside and the case sent back for rehearing. In this particular case, they felt that there should be a fresh start before a different judge  (although that was not decided as a principle applicable to all cases)

 

 

[When I find myself in times of trouble, Andy Flower talks to me, we need a batting hero, get KP… Get KP, get KP, get KP, oh get KP, we need a batting hero, get KP]

 

 

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There are compelling reasons of public policy why ‘sham marriages’ are declared non-marriages

Posted on November 13, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

 

This is the Court of Protection decision in A Local Authority v SY 2013

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/COP/2013/3485.html

Much of the case involved SY’s difficulties with capacity and plans for her future, which involved her living in a care home – having not consented, this was being treated as a deprivation of liberty (I add in parenthesis that I am pleased to see the Courts taking a common sense pragmatic approach on someone having to live in a home when they don’t consent as being a Deprivation of Liberty DoLS, as I think that was always the spirit of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, though we seem to have drifted from that in the short years the Act has existed)

An additional issue, however, was that SY had entered into a marriage to a man TK.   I have to say, the man TK, doesn’t come out of this well  (I have reordered the judgment here, simply because it scans better in this particular context)

 

    1. TK was born in Pakistan. He came to the United Kingdom on 7 September 2009 as a student. His application to continue his studies was refused and his appeal was dismissed on the basis of a tribunal finding that he had submitted two forged documents and had attempted to deceive the immigration authorities. His rights of appeal were exhausted in June 2011. It is in this context that he began a relationship with SY in August 2011.

 

    1. On or around 15 June 2012 TK was arrested for immigration offences and detained by the UK Border Agency pending his deportation. He claimed asylum on the basis that he feared he would be killed by his family who disapproved of his marriage to a white British woman, namely SY.

 

    1. Following an adult case conference on 20 June 2012, SY moved to her current placement on 27 June 2012. The following day an associate of TK attended the placement and attempted to gain entry for the purpose of seeking SY’s signature on a document allegedly prepared to assist TK with his asylum claim. In light of the risks to SY of harm and exploitation, an urgent authorisation was issued and then a standard authorisation to deprive her of her liberty at the placement was granted.

 

  1. On 17 July 2012 TK’s appeal against the refusal to grant him asylum was dismissed on all grounds. His relationship with SY lay at the heart of the case he sought to mount. The tribunal judge found that “The relationship, if there is one, does not have the necessary qualities of commitment, depth and intimacy which would be necessary to demonstrate family life for the purposes of article 8…”. He later observed that “viewed objectively her best interests are likely to be served by there being no further interference by [TK] and his friends with the care arrangements which social services have put in place”. He was found not to have given a truthful account in his evidence and not to be a credible witness.

 

    1. On 23 January 2012 her then carers notified the authority that she had returned from TK’s property in a nearby city and told them that TK had locked her in his house when he went to work, she and TK had been visited by a ‘lawyer’ about a housing application, that they were to marry in six months time and that TK had taken her to a registry office to obtain a copy of her birth certificate. The carers reported they had overheard TK speaking to SY on the telephone in a controlling and aggressive manner.

 

    1. Social workers attempted to undertake a capacity assessment but SY refused to co-operate. For the same reasons a clinical psychologist, Dr. C, was unable to assess formally her capacity to litigate and/or to make decisions as to residence, contact, marriage and sexual relations but concluded it was unlikely she was able to do so.

 

  1. On 24 May 2012 the authority and the police told TK that SY had a learning disability and was unlikely to have capacity to consent to sexual relations and marriage and that an offence would be committed. Notwithstanding this advice, on 10 June 2012 TK and SY entered into a purported Islamic marriage ceremony at his home.

 

So, the issue in the case was whether the Court of Protection should make a declaration that this marriage was not recognised, as being one that SY had no capacity to consent to.  The eagle-eyed or attentive reader may recall that there was a blog post recently about a Holman J decision, in which he held that the Court had no jurisdiction to make such a declaration  – the difference HERE is that the unfortunate wife in that case COULD have made her own application for nullity but was vulnerable and unwilling, which was what caused the bar to the declaration. Here, there was no possibility that SY had the capacity to make an application in her own right, so the Court would have power to make the declaration.

(It isn’t QUITE as simple as that, because the marriage never purported to be a ceremony to which the Marriage Act applies, so the Court can’t use the powers under that Act – this was clearly an Islamic ceremony. So, to declare it a non-recognised marriage  involves the use of the inherent jurisdiction, and the Court needed to walk through very carefully the existing authorities,  hence the debate and determination below – underlining mine for emphasis)

Discussion – Declaration of Non-Marriage

    1. There is no provision in the 2005 Act to make a declaration in respect of the ceremony in which SY and TK participated on 10 June 2012.

 

    1. The issue is whether the Official Solicitor should make a freestanding application for a declaration or whether the court, of its own motion, should invoke the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court and make a declaration of non-marriage. The parties invite me to take the latter course.

 

    1. The ceremony was conducted at TK’s home by a Mr MA. He is not a registrar and the ceremony did not take place at an authorised place. A document entitled ‘Marriage Certificate according to Islamic Laws’ appears in the court bundle [A35].

 

    1. It is submitted by counsel for the authority and for the Official Solicitor that the ceremony failed to comply with essential requirements of the Marriage Acts 1947-1986 in that:

 

a. it was not conducted in a registered place; and

b. it was not conducted by a registrar or by a priest according to Anglican rites.

    1. Furthermore it is submitted that the evidence indicates that in all probability the ceremony was not intended to attract the status of a marriage under English law being a ceremony undertaken to create a marriage expressly according to Islamic laws.

 

    1. In A-M v. A-M (Jurisdiction: Validity of Marriage) [2001] 2 FLR 6, Hughes J. (as he then was) considered the status of an Islamic marriage ceremony conducted in England. He said, at paragraph 58,

 

“It is clear, however, that the present ceremony did not begin to purport to be a marriage according to the Marriage Acts, with or without fatal consequences. It was not conducted under the rites of the Church of England, nor was there ever any question of an application for, still less a grant of, a superintendent registrar’s certificate, and it was conducted in a flat which was clearly none of the places which were authorised for marriage. The ceremony was consciously an Islamic one rather than such as is contemplated by the Marriage Acts……It is not any question of polygamy which ipso facto takes this ceremony outside s. 11, but the fact that it in no sense purported to be effected accordingly to the Marriage Acts, which provide for the only way of marrying in England. …It follows that I hold that the 1980 ceremony is neither a valid marriage in English law nor one in respect of which jurisdiction exists to grant a decree of nullity”.

    1. The self-same facts and considerations apply in this case in relation to the ceremony conducted on 10 June 2012.

 

    1. In the case of Hudson v. Leigh (Status of Non-Marriage) [2009] 2 FLR 1129, a ceremony was undertaken in South Africa which the parties had deliberately modified to avoid strict compliance with local formalities. They intended a civil ceremony would be conducted some weeks later in England, but it never took place. Bodey J. held, at paragraphs 80-84,

 

“As to Mr Leigh’s amended petition, Mr Mostyn has abandoned the secondary prayer in it for a declaration that “…no marriage between the parties subsisted on the 23rd January 2004 or thereafter”. That had seemingly been inserted into the pleading by amendment and as an afterthought so as to try to bring Mr Leigh’s case into S55 (1) (c), as being ‘a declaration that the marriage did not subsist on a date so specified in the application’. I am clear that the making of such a declaration would have been wholly impermissible as being a device to get around S58 (5) (which outlaws any declaration that a marriage was at its inception void) and I would therefore have dismissed that prayer had it stood alone. There remains Mr Mostyn’s application for a declaration that the Cape Town ceremony did not effect a marriage at all….It goes without saying that, if appropriately worded, the mere dismissal of Miss Hudson’s petition for divorce and alternatively for nullity would inform any reasonably knowledgeable interested party that there was not a marriage between herself and Mr Leigh. There would indeed be nothing to prevent a specific recital to that effect. That would not be entirely satisfactory, however, since it would not theoretically bind third parties and problems might arise if either party wanted to marry here or abroad, or otherwise needed to demonstrate his or her status. A declaration, if permissible, would be in the public interest of creating certainty and would be beneficial and convenient for both parties. In my judgment, the making of such a declaration is not outlawed by S58 (5) if and for so long as it is made to declare that there never was a marriage, as distinct from being a declaration (which is not permitted) that a given marriage was void at its inception. When the facts dictate the latter (which, as found here, they do not) then the only route to resolution is nullity. Nor do I find persuasive Mr Le Gryce’s argument about the former practice of the ecclesiastical courts. For so long as the High Court has an inherent jurisdiction, as it does, and has the authority of the RSC to make free-standing Declarations in appropriate circumstances, then such jurisdiction needs within reason to be flexible and to move with the times. I cannot accept that it is stuck in the mid-19th century. Were it so, then countless orders must have been made (for example in the management of life-support systems) without jurisdiction. Accordingly I propose to make a Declaration that the Cape Town ceremony of 23.1.04 did not create the status of marriage as between Miss Hudson and Mr Leigh.”

    1. Bodey J., in a later case, considered the status of an Islamic marriage ceremony conducted in the ‘husband’s’ London flat in the presence of an imam. He held there had been a wholesale failure to comply with the formal requirements of English law and there was nothing that could be susceptible to a decree of nullity under s. 11 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. He made a declaration of non-marriage: El Gamal v. Al Maktoum [2012] 2 FLR 387.

 

    1. On the basis of those authorities I am satisfied that the ceremony which took place between SY and TK on 10 June 2012 did not comply with the formal requirements of the Marriage Acts 1947-1986. I find it was a non-marriage.

 

    1. What is then to be done? The Official Solicitor on behalf of SY could make a freestanding application pursuant to the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court to seek a declaration of non-marriage. Alternatively, the court in these proceedings could, of its own motion, invoke the inherent jurisdiction and make a declaration of non-marriage.

 

    1. In the case of XCC v. AA and Others [2012] EWHC 2183 (COP), Parker J. was invited to make a declaration of non-recognition of a marriage within Court of Protection proceedings by invoking the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court. She said, at paragraphs 54 and 85,

 

“The protection or intervention of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court is available to those lacking capacity within the meaning of the MCA 2005 as it is to capacitous but vulnerable adults who have had their will overborne, and on the same basis, where the remedy sought does not fall within the repertoire of remedies provided for in the MCA 2005. It would be unjustifiable and discriminatory not to grant the same relief to incapacitated adults who cannot consent as to capacitous adults whose will has been overborne…..I am satisfied that once a matter is before the Court of Protection, the High Court may make orders of its own motion, particularly if such orders are ancillary to, or in support of, orders made on application. Since the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in relation to adults is an aspect of the parens patriae jurisdiction the court has particularly wide powers to act of its own motion.”

    1. I, respectfully, agree.

 

    1. Parker J. held that the provisions of the 2005 Act were not to be imported in to the inherent jurisdiction evaluation, the decision was not dictated only by considerations of best interests but public policy considerations were also relevant [paragraphs 56-57 and 71-76].

 

    1. It is plain on the facts of this case, especially taking account of the immigration judgment handed down on 17 July 2012 in respect of TK’s asylum appeal, that TK exploited and took advantage of SY for the purpose of seeking to bolster his immigration appeal and his prospects of being permitted to remain in this country. The ceremony he and SY engaged in on 10 June 2012 formed the bedrock of that objective.

 

    1. TK well knew that SY had learning difficulties and was a vulnerable young woman. He knew that the police and the care services were extremely concerned about his involvement with SY.

 

    1. I can reach no other conclusion than he deliberately targeted SY because of her learning difficulties and her vulnerability. The courts will not tolerate such gross exploitation.

 

    1. Fortunately, it would appear that TK’s involvement in SY’s life is not now causing her emotional distress or harm. It was, however, yet another abusive and exploitative episode in her life which could have had serious physical, emotional and psychological consequences for her.

 

  1. In my judgment it is important for SY that a declaration of non-marriage is made in respect of the June 2012 ceremony. There are also, in my judgment, compelling reasons of public policy why sham ‘marriages’ are declared non-marriages. It is vital that the message is clearly sent out to those who seek to exploit young and vulnerable adults that the courts will not tolerate such exploitation.

 

Over and above the facts of this case, and that judicial steer underlined above (which I suspect will be cited in many of these cases to come), the Court made some interesting observations about the capacity assessment.

 

    1. The assessment of capacity (COP 3) was completed by SY’s social worker, NU. It is a full, detailed and helpful assessment of SY’s capacity to make decisions as to her residence, contact with others, her care needs and to enter into a contract of marriage.

 

  1. I am told by counsel that it is more usual for the assessment of capacity to be undertaken by a medical practitioner or a psychiatrist. The assessment in this case demonstrates that an appropriately qualified social worker is eminently suited to undertake such capacity assessments. I commend the practice which I hope will be followed in appropriate future cases.

 

[I am not entirely sure how I feel about that – I represent and work with social workers and believe that those who work in adult social care do have the necessary expertise and skill to conduct such assessments and that they would strive to make them fair. However, it can be the case that the Local Authority take, and sometimes have to take, a line as to what they consider to be in the best interests of the person. It may be that such a role doesn’t sit entirely comfortably with conducting an assessment to decide whether a person is capable of exercising autonomy or should have decisions about their future made by the State in their ‘best interests’.  (I am not saying that there WOULD be bias or unfairness, but in law, the perception of bias can be as important as the actuality.  R v Sussex Justices being the lead on this – the law must not only be fair, it must be seen to be fair)

 

 

 

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London Borough of Ealing v Connors (committal hearing)

Posted on November 13, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

I wrote recently about a committal hearing arising from a breach of orders made in private law proceedings. This is one that relates to public law proceedings. The committal hearing was held in open court, thus it is possible to report the names of those involved.

 

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2013/3493.html

 

The background which led to orders being made on these children is very worrying. The Court report it in this way

    1. This matter concerns two girls, A born on 12th October 1999, who will be 14 years of age tomorrow, and B, born on 22nd November 2001, who is now 11 years of age, nearly 12. The Respondent is the mother and the father has taken no part in the proceedings. The children have an older brother C who is now 16 years of age. There are seven half siblings as a result of the mother’s previous marriage, or relationship.

 

    1. Both of these young girls were made the subject of emergency protection orders on 23 September 2013 and interim care orders on 1 October 2013. Both of those orders were accompanied by recovery orders as the girls had gone missing and their location was unknown. Immediately prior to the emergency protection order on 23 September 2013 they had been living with their mother. Neither child has been seen since 23 September 2013. On the application of the Local Authority on 8th October 2013 I made a Collection Order to assist the Local Authority in seeking to locate the whereabouts of the children.

 

    1. There is a background to this matter which is carefully set out in the case summary provided by the Local Authority. In summary, there has been involvement between this family and the Local Authority since about October 2012, following A being admitted to hospital with suspected meningitis. Further investigations were undertaken in relation to her medical position. She is currently under treatment for rheumatic fever and requires monthly injections of penicillin. Since May of this year there has been inconsistency in relation to her attendance for these injections. She missed her August injection, was late for her September injection, and, as far as I am aware, has not had her October injection. So the medical position in relation to A is extremely worrying.

 

    1. The Local Authority have sought to engage with the mother around issues concerning lack of school attendance and A’s behaviour. Unfortunately, that has not been very fruitful. There have also been issues in relation to domestic violence within the home with the father. He is reported not to live at the home, but attended there in April when there was an incident and he was asked to leave by C. The father damaged the property and left before the police arrived. C has been arrested in relation to a criminal matter concerning a burglary, and has been bailed back to the home.

 

    1. The matters that precipitated the issue of these proceedings occurred on 19 September when it is alleged that A was assaulted by being kicked repeatedly and punched by C and her father in the family home. At the time of the incident those present were A, C, the father, the mother, and a five year old niece and young six month old nephew. A reported that the brother and father had called her a prostitute and accused her of sleeping with her uncle. It is alleged that during the argument C specifically put on steel toe capped boots to carry out the assault, and it is alleged that the father punched and kicked her, pulled her hair, and threatened to kill her.

 

    1. The mother was noted to be intoxicated by the London Ambulance Service when they attended, and A was observed to be shaking, crying and extremely distressed. There was swelling on her leg, redness to her face and ribs, and she was taken to hospital and kept overnight. It is clear from the examinations that subsequently took place there were a number of injuries on A’s body which are consistent with the account of assault that had been given, including bruising, grazing, and areas of redness in various parts of her body. A was discharged to the home of her cousin K on 20th September.

 

  1. The whereabouts of B are unknown. C has been bailed in relation to the assault back to the home address. The question of police protection was discussed. The Local Authority undertook home visits on 20 and 23 September. The mother was not at home, and it had not been possible to contact the mother. On 23 September the EPO and recovery orders were granted without notice.

 

Over and above the concern then that children whom the Court had determined there was reasonable grounds to believe had suffered significant harm, in the form of both assaults from adults and intoxication of their main carer, there were considerable health reasons why A needed to be found so that her treatment for meningitis could be resumed. It is no great surprise that the Court made what is called a Collection Order (this being one of the powers of the High Court, to authorise an officer of the Court known as the Tipstaff, to conduct investigations as to the whereabouts of a child and to recover them if possible. I like to think, personally, that the Tipstaff looks like the motorcycle cop robot from Terminator 2.   I note from a quick search for information on Tipstaffs/Tipstaves that they are the only people permitted to arrest a person within the precincts of the Royal Courts of Justice – which given that there are only two of them and it is a massive, massive building, is slightly unnerving)

In terms of that investigatory/recovery process, the Court said this

    1. This matter came back before me the following day, 9 October, because the Tipstaff had arrested the mother on the Tuesday evening for alleged breach of the Collection Order. The actual order required her to deliver the children into the charge of the Tipstaff, or inform the Tipstaff of the whereabouts of the children, or in any event inform the Tipstaff of all matters within her knowledge or understanding which might reasonably assist the Tipstaff in locating the children.

 

    1. The record in relation to the visit when the mother was arrested states that the police officers attended the address and spoke with the mother. She informed the police that the children were with Paddy and Mary in Manchester and she had no contact details for them. Further, she said that the children may now be with a different unknown family. The suggestion by the mother that she did not understand the terms of the order, and that she may be arrested, is not supported by that account because she must have clearly understood the terms of the order requiring her to give information otherwise she would not have given the information that she did. So as of Tuesday evening that was the information that the mother had given.

 

    1. When she attended court on 9 October and was asked by her legal team about the whereabouts of the children she said that they were with her sister-in-law, BC at an address in Edgware. She gave oral evidence on that day when she said she had not seen the girls since 23 September but had “heard” from others that they had been in Manchester with her cousins, Paddy and Mary. She said she had been told by one of her older daughters, called M, that the children had returned to London on Monday of this week and were staying with BC. Her daughter M told her she had seen them there; she had seen them playing outside BC’s home.

 

    1. When the police attended on the Tuesday evening the mother agreed she knew what the order required her to do, but she did not disclose this important information as to the whereabouts of the children to the police. I remanded the mother in custody on Wednesday until the following day so that the police could make enquiries at BC’s address to see if the children were there. They attended at BC’s property on three occasions; once at about 9 o’clock on the Wednesday evening, when BC was there but denied that she had the children; again in the early hours of the morning of 10 October, when there was no response to their knocks on the door; and, finally, yesterday afternoon when BC was arrested. BC was going to be brought before me this morning, but I have been told this morning that she had been taken ill overnight and is currently in hospital waiting to be seen by a consultant.

 

    1. Once it became apparent yesterday afternoon that the children were not at BC’s home I heard further oral evidence from the mother. She was adamant that the children were with BC. I remanded the mother in custody again to this morning as it was expected BC would be brought to court.

 

    1. In her oral evidence given on Wednesday and Thursday the mother accepted that there have been many opportunities when she could have produced the children, but did not do so as she did not want them to come into care. She accepted that at any time she could have got the children back. She maintained she had no address or phone number for Paddy or Mary, who allegedly had the children in Manchester. She further maintained that she did not have A’s mobile telephone number, although she did accept that A had a mobile phone. She revealed that when the police sought to execute the recovery order at BC’s home on about 23 or 24 September, after the EPO was granted, the children had in fact been there but they were hiding; and that is why they were sent to Manchester. The mother said in her oral evidence that she would now co-operate with the Local Authority and that she was concerned about A not receiving her injections.

 

    1. When the matter was listed before me this morning counsel for the mother, Mr. Nosworthy, who has been present at all the hearings made an application that I should adjourn this matter until the court could hear from BC. I rejected that application, for the reasons that I have given earlier. Importantly, on his instructions, he said that if the mother is given the opportunity to speak to K (who is the daughter of BC) and gives the instruction for the children to be brought to Social Services they will comply with her instructions. She believes K will be at BC’s accommodation looking after BC’s children. Mr. Nosworthy stated as follows:

 

“Once the mother relays her permission that the children are to be brought to Social Services whoever has them will do so.”

  1. That demonstrates to me that this mother has always known where these children are, she has always known that they would be able to be brought back at her command, but for reasons which are known only to her she has chosen not to do that.

 

The issue then was whether this conduct on the part of the mother amounted to a breach of the Collection Order punishable by committal for contempt.

    1. I remind myself, of course, that the test in this matter is that I have to be satisfied to the criminal standard, namely, that it is beyond reasonable doubt. I have to be satisfied so that I am sure. Having seen the mother it is quite clear there are strong emotions felt by her about the orders made by the court regarding the children and she opposes them. Her lack of co-operation with the court process to date in locating the children supports that view. I have made clear to the mother that any orders I make today are not final decisions about the children, those are for another court on another day. It is extremely regrettable that due to the circumstances of this application, and the mother’s behaviour, a hearing set in Willesden County Court for today to consider a contested interim care application cannot take place. The mother has failed to act in the children’s interests by denying them the opportunity to attend that hearing.

 

    1. I am satisfied so that I am sure that this mother knows perfectly well where these children are, or at least where they can be contacted or located and she knew that when she was arrested on Tuesday. She acknowledged as much in answer to questions from Ms Hall in her oral evidence yesterday, when she accepted that she could have got the children back any time prior to her arrest by the Tipstaff if she wanted to. Despite saying that she has refused to give any details about the whereabouts of the children other than them being at BC’s house when clearly they were not. She told the police on 8 October, just prior to her arrest, that they were in Manchester, which on her own account to the court the following day was a lie.

 

    1. I have reached the conclusion that it is inconceivable that as their mother who had their full time care prior to 23 September she has taken no active steps to find them or speak to them. Her evidence is inherently unreliable due to the inconsistencies in her accounts, coupled with her acknowledgment that she does not wish the children to be placed in care. In that context, her expressed intentions of future co-operation with the Local Authority rings very hollow. That is reinforced by the submission made by her counsel, on her express instructions this morning, that once she relays her permission to the family that the children should be produced at Social Services they will do so. That, in my judgment, makes it very clear it is within her control to ensure that these children are produced to the Local Authority and she has failed to do so.

 

  1. Therefore, I am satisfied so that I am sure she is clearly in breach of paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Collection Order that I made on 8th October, and she has failed in the continuing duty to provide information in relation to the whereabouts of the children.

 

There then followed a plea in mitigation (i.e mother’s lawyer setting out the reasons why this breach should not result in imprisonment, or if it did, that the sentence should be lenient.

    1. Mr. Nosworthy has very thoughtfully and eloquently made submissions on behalf of the mother in relation to the sentence that this court should impose in relation to the contempts that I have found. He has very properly referred me to the case of Hale v Tanner, reported at [2000] 2 FLR 879, and the guidance that is given in that case, in particular at paragraphs 26 and 29, and the summary in the head note in relation to the matters that the court should take into account, and I do take those matters into account.

 

    1. In mitigation he says that the mother has a clear sense of remorse, which of course I accept at face value, but I have to take into account that that remorse has not been coupled with any kind of direct action by her to assist in recovering the whereabouts of these children. He also says that the evidence is clear, she has failed to co-operate in the past but now wishes to co-operate. Again, I understand why that submission is made, but there has not been co-operation in relation to locating the whereabouts of these children.

 

    1. In relation to the cultural background, whilst of course that is an important consideration that the court has to bear in mind, in particular the concern by this mother that she may be ostracised by her community if she worked together with the Local Authority. Whilst it is a factor it does not give her an entitlement to be able to disobey orders of the court.

 

    1. I accept the difficult background this mother has had, as is clear from the papers that I have read, which have included unhappy relationships with her partners, and also difficulties with a number of her children. I also take into account that she has, I think, two other children living with her, C who is 16 years of age, and M, who is 24 years of age. But I look at that in the context of what has been clear in this case, there is a wider family that step in and support where necessary.

 

  1. I take into account the mother has spent three days in custody, and also that there may be difficulties in relation to her rental payments and practical matters as regards her living accommodation. However, I am very clear that the message needs to go out loud and clear in relation to court orders relating to the whereabouts of children. It is an extremely serious matter when the court is unable to trace the whereabouts of children, and it is particularly serious when the court is unable to do that because the person who can assist in that will not provide the help to locate the children.

 

The Court imposed a custodial sentence of 28 days, taking into account the 3 days that the mother had already spent in prison, but reminded her that if she remained in breach of the order (by not providing the details of where the children were) that a further application for committal could be made and that the maximum sentence would be 2 years. The Judge urged the mother to consider her situation, and that she could purge her contempt at any point (comply with the order, apologise, and be released/have her sentence reduced)

 

It is worth noting that however much you disagree with orders made by the Court, and however much you want to fight those orders, there are significant consequences and risks for taking that challenge or fight out of the Court room and taking things into your own hands.

 

I suspect the Tipstaff can't turn his arms into metal knives. he wouldn't get through the security checks at the RCJ entrance

I suspect the Tipstaff can’t turn his arms into metal knives. he wouldn’t get through the security checks at the RCJ entrance

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Seven!

Posted on November 13, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

 

Sorry, am thinking of the Experts on Strictly…    The Government have determined the standards for expert reports in care proceedings. From the press releases, you would think that these standards would transform the expert reports that the independent study showed were pretty ghastly and not fit for purpose in a significant number of cases, particularly given the cost to the taxpayer and the delay for children that obtaining them often caused.  

As usual with modern government, you can find press releases and news reports of the launch – plenty of stuff saying how marvellous the new arrangements are or will be, but finding the actual substance underneath all of the fluff is always difficult. That’s what I’m here for

 

The link is here: – https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/expert-witnesses

 

But as the standards are so skimpy   (sorry, thorough, but condensed into short, practical guidance) I have just set them out in full here. 

 

[I wrote on this before at the time of the consultation, and am disappointed to see that the formulation of ‘has been active’ rather than ‘is active’ survived to the final draft. I wrote then, and I re-emphasise now, that I am aware of experts who have done nothing but Court work in the last two decades if not longer, and they still meet this test because ‘has been active’ doesn’t even have a ‘recently’ caveat.   One might also think, given how fast the law on adoption has been developing that the expert might be obliged to keep up to date with the legal requirements before recommending options]

 

The Final Recommended Standards

‘Standards for Expert Witnesses in Children’s Proceedings in the family court’

Subject to any order made by the court, expert witnesses involved in family proceedings (involving children) in England and Wales, whatever their field of practice or country of origin, must comply with the standards (1-11)

1. The expert’s area of competence is appropriate to the issue(s) upon which the court has identified that an opinion is required, and relevant experience is evidenced in their CV.

2. The expert has been active in the area of work or practice, (as a practitioner or an academic who is subject to peer appraisal), has sufficient experience of the issues relevant to the instant case, and is familiar with the breadth of current practice or opinion.

3. The expert has working knowledge of the social, developmental, cultural norms and accepted legal principles applicable to the case presented at initial enquiry, and has the cultural competence skills to deal with the circumstances of the case.

4. The expert is up-to-date with Continuing Professional Development appropriate to their discipline and expertise, and is in continued engagement with accepted supervisory mechanisms relevant to their practice.

5. If the expert’s current professional practice is regulated by a UK statutory body (See Appendix 1) they are in possession of a current licence to practise or equivalent.

6. If the expert’s area of professional practice is not subject to statutory registration (e.g. child psychotherapy, systemic family therapy, mediation, and experts in exclusively academic appointments) the expert

should demonstrate appropriate qualifications and/ or registration with a relevant professional body on a case by case basis. Registering bodies usually provide a code of conduct and professional standards and should

be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (See Appendix 2). If the expertise is academic in nature (e.g. regarding evidence of cultural influences) then no statutory registration is required (even if this includes direct contact or interviews with individuals) but consideration should be given to appropriate professional accountability.

7. The expert is compliant with any necessary safeguarding requirements, information security expectations, and carries professional indemnity insurance.

 

 

 

8. If the expert’s current professional practice is outside the UK they can demonstrate that they are compliant with the FJC ‘Guidelines for the instruction of medical experts from overseas in family cases’

 

9. The expert has undertaken appropriate training, updating or quality assurance activity –

including actively seeking feedback from cases in which they have provided evidence21

– relevant to the role of expert in the family courts in England and Wales within the last year.

10. The expert has a working knowledge of, and complies with, the requirements of Practice Directions relevant to providing reports for and giving evidence to the family courts in England and Wales. This includes compliance with the requirement to identify where their opinion on the instant case lies in relation to other accepted mainstream views and the overall spectrum of opinion in the UK.

 

 

Expectations in relation to experts’ fees

11. The expert should state their hourly rate in advance of agreeing to accept instruction, and give an estimate of the number of hours the report is likely to take. This will assist the legal representative to apply expeditiously to the Legal Aid Agency if prior authority is to be sought in a publicly funded case.

 

 

[I’m afraid, channelling Mr Revell-Horwood, this is at best a Four. A-bys-mal]

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Don’t get too hung up on the lies

Posted on November 8, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

 

 

The Court of Appeal decision in Re Y (A child) 2013 

http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed120637

This was actually, I think the first appeal about Placement Orders post Re B-S, it has just been beaten to the published judgment case by all of the others. Anyway, in this one, the Court of Appeal determined that the judgment was deficient in the sort of rigorous analysis that is now required (notwithstanding that not all of the authorities that established the need for such analysis having existed at the time the judgment was made).

 

The Court of Appeal were very critical of the Local Authority final evidence.

“In upholding the criticism made of the judgment as to inadequate identification of risk and consequent evaluation of likelihood of that risk in subsequent analysis of measures which mitigate that risk, that is articulation of the proportionality of the order sought and subsequently made, the judge was not assisted by the dearth of relevant evidence which should have supplied, in particular by the local authority.  Relevant evidence in this respect is not and should not be restricted to that supportive of the Local Authority’s preferred outcome.”

(re-emphasising, if such emphasis were needed, that a B-S compliant final statement analysising the pros and cons of each potential final option is essential)

 

But this bit is a development from the multitude of other Placement Orders sent back for re-hearing.

 

(4) I consider the case appears to have been hijacked by the issue of the mother’s dishonesty. Much of the local authority’s evidence is devoted to it.  The Children’s Guardian adopts much the same perspective.  It cannot be the sole issue in a case devoid of context. There was very little attention given to context in this case.  No analysis appears to have been made by any of the professionals as to why the mother’s particular lies created the likelihood of significant harm to these children and what weight should reasonably be afforded to the fact of her deceit in the overall balance.

(5) This is not a case which is remitted for re-hearing merely to correct a procedural defect. The existing evidence plainly is inadequate for the purpose of the task of the judge who will re-hear the case at first instance in the light of recent authorities.

[This is of course mildly ironic, since the case that launched a thousand appeals in relation to plans for adoption, Re B, is almost entirely about the dishonesty of the parents and the disconnection between that level of dishonesty and firm cogent reasons as to why and how that dishonesty would harm the child.  It is also worth bearing in mind that the Supreme Court were 4-1 in favour of the Placement Order, notwithstanding that it was one of the flimsiest thresholds I’ve ever encountered]

 

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Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Posted on November 8, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

 

 

The compelling case of Re M (Best Interests : Deprivation of Liberty) 2013

 

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/COP/2013/3456.html

 

This is a Court of Protection case,  decided by Justice Peter Jackson – who has delivered a number of very cogent judgments in the short time I have been running this blog. I think this one is a model of its kind.

 

The issue was whether the Court would approve a Deprivation of Liberty for a woman, meaning that she would have to live in a care home, or reject it meaning that she could return to her own home. The care home option would be safe but make her unhappy, being in her own home carried considerable risks but would make her happy.   [Hence the title of the piece]

 

There was no doubt in this case that the woman in question, M, lacked capacity to make decisions on her own behalf, and that the professional agencies concerned could have done nothing other than make the recommendation they did

 

my decision implies no criticism whatever of any of the witnesses from the local authority or by the CCG. I understand the position taken and the reasons for it; indeed it would be difficult for them to have taken a different view on the facts of the case. There are risks either way and it is perfectly appropriate that responsibility for the outcome should fall on the shoulders of the court and not on the shoulders of the parties.

 

 

Another interesting point for wider application is this :-

 

I have already noted the visit made by the District Judge to M in the care home about a month before this hearing. A careful written record was made and placed with the papers. The visit has therefore had the dual purpose of informing the court of M’s views and of making M feel connected to the proceedings without putting her into the stressful position of having to come to court in person. I commend this as an approach that may be of value in other cases of this kind.

 

 

The fundamental issue in the case was the management of M’s diabetes, the assessment being that she needed 24 hour supervision to manage this so that it would not be life-threatening. The authorities therefore wanted M to live in a care home, where this supervision could take place. M (despite lacking capacity to make a decision) was clearly expressing her huge antipathy to this and her desire to live at home.

 

 

 

 

The risk from the management of her diabetes was real and vivid

 

In relation to the management of M’s diabetes, Miss L, a senior specialist nurse, clearly explained the processes involved, the nature of the medication regime, and the range of consequences arising from non-compliance of different kinds. Her evidence establishes that if there is a default in the insulin supply that M receives there will undoubtedly be a deterioration in her physical health. The probability is that this would be picked up, but the length of time that would be available to take action would be limited with the likeliest scenario being a situation that had to be resolved within a certain number of hours or a few days; however the possibility of a more urgent and possibly fatal event cannot be discounted.

 

Counsel for the Care Commissioning Group (the agency responsible for M’s care) put it very crisply to the Court

 

at the care home there is almost complete certainty of physical safety at the cost of the happiness of M

 

 

 

You may already be anticipating that we are about to move into very interesting territory in Deprivation of Liberty law   – if someone needs to be detained to preserve their physical safety, but the effect of that is to lose their happiness and quality of life, where does that balance fall?

 

 

  1. In relation to the views of others, I have taken account of the views of all those referred to above. I am in no doubt that everyone concerned has thought hard about what is in M’s best interests. It is not surprising that witnesses called by the CCG are by vocation highly motivated by their responsibility to keep her safe. I also place substantial weight upon the judgement of A, who knows M and her situation extremely well.
  1. Ultimately the court must balance these factors:
  • M’s wishes, feelings and values which point towards a return home.
  • The best possible control of her diabetes, which points towards her remaining in the care home.
  • The risks to her health that exist in the care home, both by way of a possible deterioration in her physical and mental state consequent upon her being made to stay there, and by way of her threats of self-harm.
  • The risks to her health that would exist following a return home, as described by Miss L.
  • The possibility that cannot be ignored that M will cause herself serious physical harm if she is told that she is not going home.
  • The real possibility that her enjoyment of life might to some degree be recovered following a return home even if it does not fully meet her expectations.
  1. Having weighed these matters up I have reached the clear conclusion that the case for a continued deprivation of M’s liberty has not been made out. I accept that there are many uncertainties in a return home, indeed more uncertainties both of a good and a bad kind than in maintenance of the status quo. Negatively these include a possible deterioration in her physical and mental state as a result of non-cooperation. The deterioration may be gradual, but might also be sudden, occurring in a matter of a few hours, and may even, though perhaps less likely, be instantly life-threatening. Any decision that M returns home must accept the real possibility that the attempt will fail and the possibility in the worst case that she may die as a result of a sudden deterioration in her condition. Like Dr Leonard, I do not however accept the view that failure is inevitable.
  1. The above disadvantages are, in my view, outweighed by the following considerations.
  1. In the end, if M remains confined in a home she is entitled to ask “What for?” The only answer that could be provided at the moment is “To keep you alive as long as possible.” In my view that is not a sufficient answer. The right to life and the state’s obligation to protect it is not absolute and the court must surely have regard to the person’s own assessment of her quality of life. In M’s case there is little to be said for a solution that attempts, without any guarantee of success, to preserve for her a daily life without meaning or happiness and which she, with some justification, regards as insupportable

 

 

The Judge therefore ruling that in this case, M’s best interests would be better served by being at home and being at happy (albeit with an element of risk) rather than being safe but unhappy in the care home.

 

Obviously, there was some emphasis on trying to make the option at home safer, and the Judge had this message for M

 

My message to M is this: I hope that you will be happy when you return home. If you accept the support you will be getting from district nurses and carers it may be possible for you to stay there. If you do not accept that support you will probably have to return to a care home

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I agree with Nick

Posted on November 6, 2013 by suesspiciousminds

Ah, those heady days of the televised election debates, where Brown and Cameron were falling over themselves to position as the party who most agreed with Nick Clegg, and for a time Nick Clegg had the brightest burning star in British politics…

 

No, this is about District Judge Nicholas Crichton, and his very firm views about the PLO.  For those who don’t know D J Crichton, he is the pioneering judge behind the Family Drug and Alcohol Court in London, which has done so much to help troubled families and children.  He is not the ,ost influential or powerful family judge in the country – the Daily Mail wouldn’t be able to call him “Top Judge” but he is one that most of the profession look up to as a thoroughly decent, committed and imaginative judge who has tried to help those who come before him.

Therefore, when he speaks out, what he says is worth listening to.

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/practice/pioneering-family-court-on-the-edge/5038532.article

 

And what he says here is that the rigid 26 week mandate is a tyranny that will lead to grave injustice for individual families who could have turned things around given the time, and he urges solicitors to appeal decisions where the 26 week mandate is rigidly imposed.

I think regular readers of this blog will know that I share those concerns myself – not that aspiring to cut out delay and the ‘dead time’ in care proceedings where nothing happened other than waiting for experts is a bad idea, rather that the rigidity of ‘one size fits all’ was inevitably going to lead to some cases being decided at the wrong time for that family.  So yes, largely I do agree with Nick.

I possibly agree less vehemently than I would have done two months ago. I think that DJ Crichton suspects now, as I did then, that the 26 week mandate was part of a greater political drive to faster and more adoptions and that troubled families weren’t going to be given a fair and reasonable chance to turn things around.  My only interpretation of the recent batch of Court of Appeal cases is that there is some judicial moving around of chess pieces on the board to lay the foundations for less adoptions and more Care Orders at home, with Local Authorities being ordered to hold onto higher levels of risk than they have historically been prepared to, and to provide more services at home to families than have historically been available.

It might be argued that this is long overdue, it might be argued that as we have a Child and Families Bill going through Parliament, that a proper and thorough debate about what Society and Parliament wants to do about families who come into the family justice system – are we there to penalise them, to test them, to help them, to prop them up? would have been the appropriate place for such a shift in national policy to happen.

 

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